


your pretty face is going to hell

by Lint



Series: My Serpentine [3]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Serpent Cheryl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2019-04-25 21:38:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14387643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lint/pseuds/Lint
Summary: “You've got a bright future ahead of you girl,” Penny says. “Don't bog yourself down with something so mundane as personal loyalty.”





	your pretty face is going to hell

 

 

A year to the day she became a Southside resident, Cheryl stands just outside the gate where the remains of Thornhill lie.

 

Faded caution tape flaps in the wind, against bars and brick, which she cuts through easily enough with a flick of her knife and heads up the drive. She hasn't returned since the spark of that first match, sending flames to spread swiftly from the gasoline spilled, into every nook and cranny of the grand house.

 

How she stood on the outside, heat blazing against her skin, unmoved and feeling nothing but sweet relief as she watched it burn. Her eyes catch that exact spot, where she remained even as the fire department came rolling in, and refused to move an inch when one of them tried to pull her to safety. Nor did she blink an eye, when Sheriff Keller arrived, asking if she was the one responsible.

 

Gravel crunches underneath her boots, the smell of charred wood still lingering in the air, as she circumvents the concrete steps that once lead to the door. Kneeling down, she's a bit surprised that piles of ash still remain, having not been washed away by snow or rain. Gritty and black, it stains her fingers as she pinches some between them, particles catching the air and floating away. Like she wishes all the memories of this place would.

 

“Hey little brother,” she says aloud. “I'm back.”

 

She'd discovered the first of her family's startling vault of secrets at just nine years old. Nosy and precocious, snooping through Daddy's office, while he and Mommy were up in Montreal on business. Finding she and Jason's birth certificates, and the shock that she and not he, was the older of the two. Of course her parents had kept such a detail to themselves, misogynistic family values not withstanding. So of course everyone else in their lives, due to Jason's taller stature and sparkling personality, naturally assumed him to be the elder twin.

 

Cheryl came into this world three whole minutes before her brother, yet she would trail behind him in almost every way, until the day he died.

 

“Oh Jason,” she murmurs. “If you could see me now.”

 

The wind kicks up at that moment, causing Cheryl to pull the jacket taut against her midsection, a Serpent never slithering this close to Thornhill before.

 

How she hated this house.

 

Hated every ugly memory created within.

 

How cleansing it was to watch the fire burn it all away.

 

There was a consistent question, during all her counseling sessions in the state sponsored group home where she was sent before being put into the care of Cousin Betty and her family, did she regret her actions?

 

No, the answer was, and remains.

 

“Anyway,” she sighs, wiping away an unforeseen tear. “Happy birthday.”

 

/\

 

Friday night at the Whyte Wyrm, and Cheryl is leaning against the pinball machine, watching on as Toni attempts to break Sweet Pea's high score. The boy in question stands at Toni's side, trying to psych her out, while Cousin Betty and Fangs cheer loudly with every point earned.

 

Betty pulls away suddenly, reaching into her pocket, pulling out the phone with a smile on her face. Whatever is happening between she and Veronica, is apparently still happening, in random moments whenever each one has time for the other.  


“I have to-” Betty begins, clearly thinking of some excuse where she doesn't want to tell them what she's really doing, despite the fact that everyone knows.

 

Cheryl waves her off with a flutter of her hand, a small smile on her face. It's sweet, really. Doomed, and tragic all at once, but she is trying her best not to judge. Grateful for she and Veronica's rekindled friendship, as well as Betty and Veronica's rekindled, what? Lust? Love? Whatever. They all should be happy, and clearly this thing between them is making that so.

 

“Where's she going?” Sweet Pea asks, never taking his eyes off the game.

 

“To get laid,” Toni deadpans, smashing the flipper buttons harshly.

 

Fangs and Cheryl laugh, which makes Sweet Pea shoot a look her way, before regarding Toni.

 

“What is it with you girls and these Northside princesses?”

 

Cheryl is about to offer a scathing rebuttal, when FP approaches them.

 

“Hey Bombshell,” he greets.

 

It takes a moment to register, because despite the jolly pirate nickname being engraved on her knife, no one in the gang actually calls her that. Except FP, it appears. Perhaps it's to avoid showing favoritism, or something, instead of using her actual name outside of the Cooper/Jones household.

 

“The boys and I are having a little meeting,” he goes on. “I want you to sit in.”

 

Toni, Fangs, and Sweet Pea all turn their heads in unison, the pinball machine's whooping sound effect telling, in that Toni just lost her chance at the high score. Cheryl locks eyes with her girl for just a second, as if to ask what is going on, but Toni clearly has no idea.

 

“Alright,” she accepts. “Now?”

 

FP smirks.

 

“Yeah, now. Come on.”

 

He walks off toward the offices in the back of the bar, and she doesn't hesitate to follow, casting one last glance back to her cohorts.

 

-

 

The meeting turns out to be another heist planning session.

 

FP sits at the head of the table, with Southpaw to his left, Gearbox and Tall Boy to his right. There's a few other Serpents whose names, real or otherwise, she can't recall there too.

 

“What's she doing here?” Tall Boy asks gruffly, seconded by some grumbling from some of the others.

 

FP is unfazed by the dismissal, nodding toward Cheryl with confidence.

 

“This little Filly saved our asses from getting caught on the last job,” he informs the crew. “I thought it might be a good idea to have a fresh pair of eyes for the next.”

 

Everyone seated at the table looks over to her at the statement, and though initially rattled by the attention, she folds her arms and glares right back.

 

Cheryl Bombshell is not, and will never be, intimidated by anyone.

 

/\

 

Cousin Betty knocks on her door frame, just as Cheryl runs the brush through her hair one last time before pulling it back into a ponytail, indicating she's got a minute or less before Alice has breakfast ready. Grabbing her bag from the bed, she looks around for her Serpent jacket, but it doesn't appear to be anywhere in the room.

 

Betty is already at the table but Alice is not, when Cheryl walks into the kitchen, joining her cousin who is already diving into a bowl of oatmeal.

 

“Have you seen my jacket?” she asks, to which Cousin Betty shakes her head around the spoon in her mouth.

 

“Right here,” FP chimes in, moving to rest it across the back of Cheryl's chair.

 

“Thanks,” she replies automatically, though confused as to why he would have it.

 

For a moment FP doesn't move or say anything, causing both girls to glance up at him curiously, but he only smiles before moving out of the kitchen.

 

“What is that?” Betty asks, after Cheryl dons her jacket when the two of them have finished their breakfast, and are dropping the bowls into the sink.

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“That,” Betty reiterates, finger poking at a new patch on the left lapel.

 

Cheryl looks down, having not noticed when putting it on.

 

_Sargent at Arms_ , it reads.

 

She's heard the term before, but doesn't remember what it means, or in what context it applies to her.

 

-

 

It's the first thing Toni notices, when Cheryl and Betty roll up to Southside High, waiting for them on her own bike as she does every morning. Her finger goes right for the patch, just as Betty had done earlier.

 

“Do you know what this means?” she asks.

 

“No,” comes Cheryl's reply. “I really don't.”

 

A look is exchanged between Toni and Betty, as if her cousin knew exactly what it meant when she saw it first, but for some reason didn't want to tell Cheryl herself.

 

Toni's hand grips the lapel, pulling Cheryl in for a good morning kiss.

 

“It means that now, we answer to you.”

 

/\

 

It's a lazy Sunday morning when Cheryl rolls out of Toni's bed, grabbing one of her girlfriend's shirts and a pair shorts, from the various piles strewn about the room. She breathes deeply, pulling the shirt over her head, and wonders just how it is she can date such a slob.

 

The sound of the shower carries through the walls as Cheryl wanders into the living room, then jumps at the sight of a man sitting in the big chair, hand clutching her chest before realizing it's Toni's grandfather back early from his fishing trip.

 

“Mr. Topaz, you startled me.”

 

The elder man laughs good naturedly, before lifting the TV remote and changing the channel.

 

“Coffee's fresh, if you want some,” he offers with the mug occupied in his other hand.

 

“Thank you,” Cheryl accepts, heading for the small kitchen to pour herself a cup.

 

She joins him back in the living room, taking a seat on the couch with legs curled underneath her, before sipping the coffee and looking toward the television.

 

“Nothing biting?” she asks after a moment of watching him flip channels.

 

“Two days and not a damn thing,” is his reply. “Woke up this morning and said that's it, I'm going home.”

 

Cheryl laughs kindly into her coffee.

 

“Well Toni will be happy to see you,” she assures.

 

He turns to her then, with a look so oddly serious in the moment, she almost squirms in her seat.

 

“You're good for her, you know.”

 

It's a statement Cheryl isn't quite sure she can agree with. The opposite is most assuredly true. Toni has been so, so good for her. In countless ways it would be impossible to tally. But the one that springs to mind is her calming influence, where Cheryl can note a definitive shift in her otherwise jagged personality. Though she still judges harshly, and hands out insults with the best of them, the degree to which these things occur has dialed down considerably.

 

Cheryl blushes furiously, so that she lifts the coffee mug to her face in an attempt to hide it from him.

 

“I'm glad you think so,” she offers quietly.

 

/\

 

When it comes to heist planning, she's five for five.

 

Building quite a reputation for herself within the Serpents.

 

There are some that still dispute the advice of a seventeen year old high school student. Especially Tall Boy, who opposes nearly every suggestion she makes because why reap the benefits of a new way of thinking, when you can stay a simple minded miscreant? To him, and a few others, the ends simply do not justify the means.

 

However, in lieu the grumblings, those who do take her suggestions seriously are rewarded with paydays that just get bigger and bigger. Really, it feels like such a strange talent to have. That stealing could come so naturally, despite being born with a silver spoon in her mouth.

 

FP offers a congratulatory pat on her shoulder, when the latest meeting comes to a close, and escorts her toward the bar where a blonde woman she's never seen before knocks back a shot. Cheryl is confused by the fact that she's wearing a Serpent jacket. Because as far as she knows, it's her, Toni, and Betty that are the only full fledged female members. (Alice doesn't count because she no longer wears the colors.)

 

“Who is that?” she asks.

 

FP becomes noticeably irritated once he realizes who the question is about.

 

“Her name is Penny Peabody,” he relays. “And you'd be wise to steer clear of that snake charmer.”

 

Cheryl looks to him with a furrowed brow.

 

“She's what we call a necessary evil.”

 

-

 

Of course half an hour after FP's warning to stay away, Penny Peabody herself wanders over to the table Cheryl shares with Cousin Betty, while Toni tends bar. She's clearly drunk, which makes the redhead roll her eyes, as Betty just glowers at the woman.

 

“Well, well Cheryl Blossom,” Penny says in greeting, two shots held in her hands. “You've been making quite the name for yourself.”

 

Cheryl turns to flick the hair dramatically over the shoulder.

 

“Always had one,” she replies. “That you're only learning it now? Not my problem.”

 

Penny laughs, rather than be insulted, handing one of the shots to Cheryl.

 

“Have a drink with me.”

 

Cheryl accepts the glass, but turns to Betty.

 

“I'll have a drink,” she replies, offering it up to her cousin, before downing it swiftly. “But not with you.”

 

Now Penny does look insulted, clucking her tongue before taking the remaining shot.

 

“Right,” she sneers. “You're FP's girl. Which means he's been spreading the seeds of dissension about me. Conjecture and hearsay, I assure you.”

 

The word selection pique's Cheryl's curiosity.

 

“Why do you talk like a lawyer?”

 

Penny only smirks at the question.

 

“Because she is one,” Cousin Betty fills in.

 

Okay, now that is brand new information. The Serpents have had a lawyer on retainer this whole time? One of their own? Who she's never seen or heard of until today? Someone their fearless leader happens to despise?

 

“You ever wonder why so many Serpents stay out of the clink?” Penny asks. “That's all me, darling.”

 

Cheryl immediately wants to know the price of her services. Whatever it is must be so high, FP can't stand to pay up, but does so for the good of the club. Necessary evil, she muses. Aren't all lawyers? Penny pulls a business card from her jacket, pushes so close to Cheryl that the smell of tequila is overwhelming.

 

She slips the card into Cheryl's pocket.

 

“You've got a bright future ahead of you girl,” Penny says. “Don't bog yourself down with something so mundane as personal loyalty.”

 

She heads back to the bar after that, snapping her fingers at Toni for another shot.

 

/\

 

“Why does FP hate her so much?”

 

Cheryl stares up at the ceiling, the question floating to Cousin Betty, who groans a reply as she is almost asleep. A shared bed, because Toni was right so long ago, asking if Betty was her best friend. That over the past year they've grown as close as sisters, who happen to do this sometimes.

 

“Are you really asking me that now?” she sighs.

 

Cheryl shifts to face Betty, whose eyes are still closed.

 

“She's a college educated gang member,” she continues. “Which is an oxymoron if there ever was one.”

 

Betty groans again, but her eyes open slowly.

 

“She's a snake in the grass,” Betty replies. “And no, that's not some clever metaphor. Her interests are her own, they always have been, no matter how much the Serpents try to reel her in.”

 

Cheryl considers this.

 

“Why doesn't he just kick her out?”

 

Betty shakes her head against the pillow.

 

“That's a lot harder than you think it is. Just because FP is the leader, doesn't mean he gets full reign. Penny plays her part, and she does it well, therefore she stays. Even though he's always suspected she has grander ambitions.”

 

That gets Cheryl's attention.

 

“Such as?”

 

“She wants to take over. Everybody knows it. Probably why she approached you at the bar. If she steals his golden goose, she'll have that much more clout.”

 

Cheryl gives a playful poke.

 

“If you're really going to make bird comparisons,” she chides. “I'm a swan.”

 

Betty chuckles.

 

“He's grooming you,” she goes on. “You get that, right?”

 

Cheryl does. But never has felt the need to address it.

 

“Does that bother you?”

Betty laughs again.

 

“Of course not. I'm being led down a different path.”

 

Cheryl suddenly realizes what that is. How Betty is practically the only student at Southside High, besides herself that is, who's concerned with getting an education. How her ambitions of college always seemed a little out of place, but suddenly make perfect sense.

 

“You're going to replace her,” she states.

 

“Yup,” Betty confirms. “That's the plan.”

 

A flawed one, Cheryl thinks. Considering the time table involved.

 

“Just like some day, he wants you to replace him.”

 

/\

 

Chaos reigns inside the Whyte Wyrm.

 

The Sheriff's department storms, head to toe in riot gear, through the door in a raid. Serpents and deputies fighting in all corners, while others scramble for an escape. Cheryl and Toni duck down behind the bar, listening to the sounds, waiting for the right moment to make a move.

 

“We have to get out of here,” Toni insists.

 

Cheryl agrees, but the second they lift their heads above the bar, they'll be compromised.

 

“Follow me,” Toni goes on, grabbing Cheryl's hand, and pulling her toward a small opening at the end.

 

It's like crawling through a doggy door, not that she's ever done that in her life, but it seems like the best way to stay out of sight. Not true it turns out, when a deputy grabs Toni's wrist the second they clear the gap, yanking her up to her feet.

 

“You're under arrest!” he shouts through his riot helmet.

 

Cheryl doesn't hesitate before sweep kicking at the man's ankle, leg buckling under his weight, and finishes him off with a stomp to the nether regions. She quickly grabs Toni's hand and pulls her toward the side door, instinct telling her the cops will be waiting at the back.

 

“Thanks,” Toni expresses in gratitude. “I totally forgot you're a ninja.”

 

Cheryl laughs despite the circumstances.

 

“Only made it to red belt, actually. But that's not important right now. We need to get out of here.”

 

Toni nods her agreement, as they make a beeline for the door, ducking and dodging more Serpents and deputies fighting it out. The night air is crisp and cool, once they burst outside, and don't stop until reaching a line of trees off in the distance. They aren't the only ones who thought of the side door, it turns out, as they meet Cousin Betty and Fangs in a clearing. A few other members are already there as well, and a couple more trickle in behind them.

 

“What the fuck happened?” Fangs asks.

 

“I don't know,” Betty answers.

 

“Goddamn pigs,” someone else mutters.

 

Cheryl takes a breath, before instinct kicks in, shouting at everyone to quiet down.

 

Toni grabs for Cheryl's hand, as one by one, everyone turns to her.

 

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that all their heists, though successful, has brought on unwanted attention. Also telling, that the more dissension those jobs brought among the crew, resulted in that raid. Someone snitched, there's no bones about it, and Cheryl is pretty sure she hadn't seen Tall Boy all night. Probably brought Penny in on it too, but she's going to have a hell of a time proving that.

 

Right now they have to get somewhere safe, regroup and figure out their next move. Cheryl realizes in the moment all those responsibilities are on her. She looks to Toni, who gives a small smile and nods.

 

“Alright, listen up bitches!” she snaps, channeling her old HBIC voice. “This is what we're going to do.”

 

 

 


End file.
